Articles Archive
Below are all our previously published articles and news items - blog posts will be included here too.
There are also 2 wordpress blog sites which we previously used and for whom content is still available, although they are not currently being updated:
View from the Gravy Train
Thanks 2 Legal Aid
Parliamentary debate on legal aid for inquests - 10 April 2019
Post date: 30th of May 2019On 10 April 2019, Parliament held a debate on the availability of legal aid for bereaved families at inquests, particularly those in which State agents are legally represented. Attached to this page is a helpful summary of the issues raised during the debate . YLAL are grateful to volunteer Freya Oldaker for preparing this summary.
Read more...Statement: Report by UN Special Rapporteur
Post date: 22nd of May 2019Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL) welcomes the publication today (22 May 2019) of the final report by the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, Philip Alston, following his visit to the United Kingdom in November 2018.
The UN Special Rapporteur rightly states that legal aid has been "dramatically reduced" in England and Wales since the introduction of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). The report notes that the number of cases funded by civil legal aid "declined by a staggering 82 per cent between 2010-11 and 2017-18".
Read more...Brexit, Human Rights and Access to Justice: YLAL Midlands event on 9 May 2019
Post date: 21st of May 2019On Thursday 9 May 2019, YLAL Midlands hosted an event on Brexit, Human Rights and Access to Justice at the Irwin Mitchell office in Birmingham.
YLAL co-chair Oliver Carter introduced the event and gave a presentation on key Brexit-related litigation, including the Miller, Wightman and Wilson cases, and the possible impact of leaving that leaving the European Union will have on human rights and access to justice in the UK. Ollie's slides are attached at the bottom of this page.
Read more...Legal aid news: March 2019
Post date: 25th of April 2019Welcome to our update of the latest legal aid and access to justice news from March 2019.
Sir Henry Brooke essay prize: On 16 March, at the second “Young Lawyers Making Change” conference, which we hosted with the Legal Education Foundation and Public Law Project, we launched the first Sir Henry Brooke Essay Prize.
Following his death in January 2018, the Sir Henry Brooke Essay Prize seeks to honour the legacy of Sir Henry Brooke, a former Court of Appeal judge who became a tireless campaigner on issues including access to justice during his retirement.
Read more...Statement on legal aid for Shamima Begum
Post date: 16th of April 2019Young Legal Aid Lawyers (YLAL) notes the media reports stating that legal aid funding will be granted to Shamima Begum, the Bethnal Green schoolgirl who travelled to Syria to join ISIS at the age of 15.
YLAL staunchly believes that public funding should be available to all those who cannot afford to pay for their own legal advice and representation. Access to justice is a fundamental human right, and a crucial component of the rule of law in our democratic society.
Read more...Sir Henry Brooke Essay Prize 2019
Post date: 16th of March 2019Following his death in January 2018, the Sir Henry Brooke Essay Prize seeks to honour the legacy of Sir Henry Brooke, a former Court of Appeal judge who became a tireless campaigner during retirement on issues including access to justice.
Read more...Legal aid news: January and February 2019
Post date: 12th of March 2019Welcome to our update of the latest legal aid and access to justice news from January and February 2019.
Read more...APPG on Legal Aid - 27.02.19
Post date: 3rd of March 2019LASPO Post-Implementation Review and Future Legal Aid Policy
In the Equality Impact Assessment accompanying the LASPO Bill, the Ministry of Justice set out its objectives for the proposed legislation as:
Read more...Conference: The Fight For Social Justice
Post date: 11th of February 2019The Fight For Social Justice: Young Lawyers Making Change
We are delighted to be hosting our second joint conference with Public Law Project and the Legal Education Foundation's Justice First Fellows on Saturday 16 March 2019 at BPP Waterloo in London.
Read more...A turning point for access to justice?
Post date: 8th of February 2019YLAL co-chair Oliver Carter has written for The Justice Gap about the government's review of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO), which brought in huge cuts to legal aid.
You can read the full article here, and we have copied part of it below:
Read more...